Dogs like Sarge left behind at My Furry Valentine. So far.

One of the animals up for adoption, Sarge, odds of survival are low just because he has traces of pit bull in him. Shelters have trouble finding pit bull or mixed pit bull breeds a home. In photo, Sarge embraces Sue Peek, who is a volunteer with Pike Pet Pals.

More than 2,500 people visited and roughly 150 animals were adopted during the first day of the My Furry Valentine main event at flexi USA, 8494 Firebird Drive, in West Chester Saturday, but one dog, in particular, was left behind.

Sarge, who may not look like it, has pit bull in him. He was brought to the main event in West Chester from the Pike County Dog Pound in Waverly, Ohio, which is roughly two hours away.

Due to traces of pit bull, the shelter claims that it is not allowed to list Sarge on its website and is unable to do the proper screenings for him to be eligible for adoption.

"We have a lot of people coming in (the shelter) with the wrong intentions," said Julie Mercer of Pike Pet Pals and Pike County Dog Pound. "We really work to get them to the rescue because we don't want the dog to fall into the wrong hands.

"We can't do home visits ourselves, so that is why we need to get them to the rescue."

If not rescued, Sarge could likely become part of a staggering statistic.

Just last year, more than 3 million animals were euthanized at shelters nationwide due to homelessness. According to Adore-A-Bull Rescue co-founder Danny Kaiser, roughly a third of those animals were pit bulls or pit bull mixes.

"People tend to shy away from the breed due to the reputation and the negative stigma therefore making it a lot harder on the shelters," Kaiser said. "A lot of shelters deem them as vicious or not adoptable. Sometimes the only way a pit bull can make it out of a shelter is through a rescue."

Last year, Adore-A-Bull Rescue rescued 218 pit bulls and found homes for 176 of them. They claim to have never euthanized a dog.

But, they couldn't rescue Sarge because he doesn't look like a pit bull.

"We are just shocked. Everyone wanted to pet him," Mercer said. "But no one adopted him. It is too bad because he is such a great dog. He is one of our favorites."

Pike Pet Pals brought a total of four dogs, all were adopted except for Sarge.

"He is caught in limbo," Carolyn Evans, who organized My Furry Valentine. "There are 20 types of dogs that are mislabeled pit bulls. I believe that is where he falls. It is just a tough position for this poor dog."

My Furry Valentine event doesn't just feature pit bulls, or dogs who may have traces of pit bull in them, but many other breeds of dogs, as well as cats, rabbits, rats and mice.

In addition to the West Chester location, there are 50 other satellite locations, which include shelters, rescues and pet stores who are participating in the adoption event this weekend.

The main event will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Evans, who is a board member for Cincinnati's United Coalition for Animals, said there will be plenty of animals ready to be adopted on day 2 of the event.

"Sunday will still be a great opportunity to come out," Evans said. "We will not run out of animals. There are more than enough animals in the Tri-State looking for homes."

The event is free to attend. Parking is also free.

If you are wondering about what will happen to Sarge, who won't be there on Sunday since Pike County is two hours from West Chester and the group was committed to stay one day, email Mercer at pikepetpals@gmail.com.

IF YOU GO

What: My Furry Valentine

When: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. todaySunday.

Where: Flexi USA, 8494 Firebird Drive, West Chester, four miles west of Union CentreCQ Boulevard exit from Interstate 75.

More: 50 satellite locations in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky are also participating. For locations, go to M www.myfurryvalentine.com

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Dogs like Sarge left behind at My Furry Valentine. So far.

More than 2,500 people visited and roughly 150 animals were adopted during the first day of the My Furry Valentine main event at flexi USA, 8494 Firebird Drive, in West Chester Saturday, but one dog,